Blog Post #8 A Matter of Selection

1) When we looked at the Brassica Oleracea, we noticed that there was a great variety in the anatomy and all of the leaves appeared to be different. The biggest different was the shape of the plant's leaves ; some were more rounded and curved while others had smaller, sickle shaped leaves. The kale plant had the most unusual leaves, which were shaped with very odd edges. Another inconsistency between plants was a waxy coating on the leaves, most likely to let water roll right off the leaves.  Some plants had this coating while others didn't.

2) I believe there is so much variation because way back in the beginning, the original plant's traits were far different from traits it has inherited over time. Through descent with modification, the plants reached a point where their genes and traits were desirable for humans to try to selectively breed the plants. A combination of artificial selection, natural variation, and mutations in the plant's genetic code have all lead to the creation of variety between the Brassica Oleracea plants.

3) A common part of the plant's anatomy is the size of the different parts of the plants. Each plant had leaves around 14 to 16 inches long, probably because they plants all descended from a common ancestor plant with leaves around that size range.

4) A breeder would need to take gametes from two different plants and put the different pollen on each of the plants to see if any of the plants produce fertile offspring. If one of the plants has fertile offspring, that plant will be used to breed with in the future, as the traits of the plant are desirable and it is capable of reproducing.